On July 20, the U.S. State Department published a document purporting to justify its crusade against the “terrorist” Left. The report, titled “Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism,” accuses the island’s regime of having led a campaign of espionage and subversion within the United States for nearly seven decades.

However, the document’s true objective operates on two levels. Domestically, it seeks to undermine the electoral growth of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), along with organizations such as CODEPINK, and prevent mass mobilizations against imperialist policies. Internationally, it foreshadows a strategy of deeper intervention in Latin America. Rubio’s policy is inseparable from Trump’s “Donroe” Doctrine. It is designed to combat the international Marxist and revolutionary Left, as well as other political currents to the left of the Democratic Party, both within the United States and abroad.

Accusations of a Cuban “War of Attrition” Against the U.S.

The 100-page document alleges that Cuba “infiltrated the highest reaches of the U.S. government, recruited and cultivated generations of American activists, [and] backed an unprecedented wave of left-wing terrorism on American soil.”

Among its most serious claims is the infiltration of universities, which are described as “the premier targets of Cuba’s subversive activities,” where they recruit “ideologically sympathetic young Americans who will ascend to positions of influence, power, and access.” The document suggests that Cuba has influenced “the George Floyd riots,” “the rise of Antifa,” and “the explosion of pro-terrorist activism on American college campuses.”

Floyd’s murder (and the other cold-blooded killings by ICE), as well as the genocide in Gaza, for which Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, former president Joe Biden, and Trump are responsible, generated a wave of mobilizations with profound consequences for American society. They have shaken the two-party system to its core. The mass American responses against police brutality and Zionist colonial-imperialist aggression cannot in any way be attributed to the Communist Party of Cuba. It is outrageous for the Trump Administration to even suggest such a thing.

Another ridiculous element in the report is listing DSA as a “front group” and sympathizer in service of Havana. Rubio is seeking to halt DSA’s electoral advance, which includes Zohran Mamdami’s mayoral victory in New York City, Katie Wilson’s mayoral victory in Seattle, among other victories across Atlanta, Portland, Colorado, and New York City. He also aims, of course, to stop the development of more left-leaning factions within DSA.

Rubio, after labeling the revolutionary Marxist left and other currents as “terrorists,” is thus preparing to implement repressive measures to prevent mass mobilizations and democratic elections within the United States. This plan is in line with Trump’s policy of restricting the right to vote in the upcoming November elections and preventing a new wave of mass protests in response to his disastrous policies in Iran and Palestine.

The threats Rubio outlines are more severe than those advanced by U.S. intelligence officials and diplomats in decades. They have fueled speculation that they could serve as a pretext for overthrowing the Cuban government and further consolidating the protectorate Trump has established in Venezuela with the invaluable assistance of Delcy Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello. In fact, Republican Congressman Carlos A. Giménez recently tweeted, “Cuba is next!” referring to the recent intervention in Venezuela. It is worth recalling that Trump had already anticipated in June that Washington would “take over” the island almost immediately.

A Coordinated, International, Working-Class Response

Amid this offensive, we need coordinated, international, working-class response against imperialism. Argentine congresswoman Myriam Bregman, member of the Party of Socialist Workers (PTS) has become one of the most lucid voices exposing the true nature of this policy. Bregman, who had already denounced Rubio’s summit as an “international persecution,” is working on a request for Javier Milei’s government to disclose what Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno did in Washington, and whether information about local activists was shared with the United States. All leftist organizations in the countries that attended Rubio’s summit should follow suit.

Bregman’s denunciation gets to the heart of the matter: Rubio’s summit and the report targeting Cuba are not responses to a genuine threat but rather a panicked reaction to the prospect of a future in which mass mobilizations and the growth of the left could give rise to a genuine challenge — not only to the failures of Trump’s policies amid the decline of U.S. imperial power, but to capitalism itself.

The 100-page document marks another step in the Trump administration’s campaign to lead the global persecution of the Marxist Left and other radical left-wing movements, weakening the fighting capacity of the international working class while paving the way for further declines in living standards in order to enrich the imperialist bourgeoisie and its national allies.

The parallels with Operation Condor are not coincidental. The United States promoted the so-called National Security Doctrine, which provided the framework for the coordinated illegal repression carried out by military dictatorships across Latin America. In Argentina, for example, this repression began in November 1975 under the democratically elected government of Isabel Perón. Today, international cooperation operates under the banners of “counterterrorism” and the Donroe Doctrine. But, as Bregman has pointed out, this offensive will not halt the advance of the left.

The response to Rubio, now more than ever, must be staunch, internationalist, and combative. We at Left Voice and the International Current for Permanent Revolution denounce this farce. There is no left-wing terrorism; there is resistance to injustice. Rubio’s report is a smokescreen. The real threat to U.S. imperialism is not Havana — it is the growing class consciousness awakening throughout the world, increasingly inspired by the banners of Marxism to take up the overthrow of capitalism.

Originally published in Spanish on July 21 in La Izquierda Diario.

The post Rubio Takes Aim at DSA and Cuba in His Campaign Against the Left appeared first on Left Voice.

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